1977 IN-DEMAND ORIGINAL ~ PROGRESSIVE ROCK CLASSIC!   

    H O E L D E R L I N               

      

 "Rare Birds" 1977 

  Original German Press - Spiegelei / Intercord Records : INT 160.608

Housed in the Original Laminated Cover  

An Original Inner sleeve is Included

No spindle marks, almost surely never played

Seriously Rare!

THIS IS NOT A RECENT RE-ISSUE !!!!

                             This is your chance to get your hands on a clean and well-preserved copy!! 

         Essential Progressive Rock Album ...  A MUST FOR ALL FANS OF PROGRESSIVE ROCK!

  Timeless Good !!!

                                                                           THE PHOTO IS OF THE ACTUAL ITEM

      Label:

Original German Press - Spiegelei / Intercord Records : INT 160.608

      Vinyl:

NEAR MINT (NM) - Both sides of the record are clean & glossy, has retained its original high sheen ... smooth like a grass, having a few lightest superficial inner sleeve type hairlines barely visible when viewed at an angle under bright light. This appears as if it has never been played - no spindle marks. The vinyl has clean labels. Has no any particular flaws to mention. Rare collectible copy. A keeper copy.

    Cover:

NEAR MINT- (NM-)  - An Original Laminated Cover. Solid, stiff, intact and very presentable having minor dirty and a kind of "sticky" spot at front. Solid and displays beautifully. No seams splits, no writings, no damages (see picture).       
                 LP STORED IN A PROTECTIVE POLY SLEEVE
The album is strictly graded and is guaranteed to your satisfaction. Any questions, feel free to ask.


Track Listing

Side 1 
1. Häktik Intergaläktik (8:33) 
2. Sky-lift (4:17) 
3. Before you lay down rough and thorny (7:25) 
Side 2
4. Rare bird (7:45) 
5. Necronomicon (6:15) 
6. Sun rays (8:55)

Total Time: 43:10
Line-up / Musicians

- Hans Bäär / bass  - Michael Bruchmann / drums, percussion  - Christian Grumbkow / lyrics - Joachim Grumbkow / keyboards, voc (4)  - Christoph Noppeney / viola, vocals  - Pablo Weeber / guitar, vocals (3)  - Manfred von Bohr / drums (5)
Hoelderlin biography
This, in my opinion, underrated German progressive rock band has its roots in '63 when the brothers Joachim and Christian Grumbkow founded the rock-band The BEATKIDS and played covers from The BEATLES, The ROLLING STONES and The SHADOWS. In november '70 the brothers GRUMBKOW presented the name HÖLDERLIN (derived from a German romantic poet) after they had played with a sery of musicians mainly folk-rock covers (especially TRAFFIC), all layered with long instrumental improvisations. Then HÖLDERLIN got an invitation from a record company, this after only three months of their existence! The debut-album "Hölderlin's Traum" was released in '72 with a nine-piece line up, including  vocals and instruments like the Mellotron, Grand piano, violin, cello, sitar, tablas and flute. Their sound is a progressive blend of rock, jazz and folk. It sold 5000 copies and the LP is still a collector's item. But then the troubles began with their producer Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser (TANGERINE DREAM, KLAUS SCHULZE and WALLENSTEIN). He tried to force the band into a more cosmic approach ('LSD' inspired complained the band) and was not amused with the "more political oriented lyrics" as he analyzed. 

It took almost three years with many juridical conflicts to get  off the contract but eventually HÖLDERLIN won their case. Under the new name HOELDERLIN (in German the pronunciation of "oe" is the same as the "ö" and much easier to write or type) the second eponymous LP was released in 75. The band called their music 'romantic rock', it sounded more jazzy and it contained echoes from KING CRIMSON and GENESIS. HOELDERLIN toured through Scandinavia, Holland, Germany and Switzerland, got good  and radio - and tv-airplay. In '76 HOELDERLIN released the  entitled "Clowns and Clouds". The music consists of more complex rock with many theatrical and surrealistic elements. In '77 Christian had a mental breakdown, he could no longer combine the too busy work with the band and his family life (the upbringing of two children). He left and Spanish guitar player Pablo Weeber joined HOELDERLIN. In '77 they released the album "Rare Birds", a year later followed by the 2-LP "Hoelderlin Live Traumstadt". Soon after the unstable personality of Pablo led to his dismiss. "Traumstadt" got very good reviews, it even reached the German charts. Further releases were "New Faces" ('79) and "Fata Morgana" ('81), including new drummer Eduard Schicke, know from the progrock trio SCHICKE, FUHRS, FRÖHLING. These albums have a more accessible melodic rock approach.

The double-album "Hoelderlin Live Traumstadt" is their finest work and showcases the band at their pinnacle. It's still considered as one of the milestones in the German rock  and has some similarities with other German progrock band GROBSCHNITT concerning the long solos, visual effects, costumes and humor. The music was recorded in the Wuppertaler Opernhaus in October '77, the 2-LP was released in '78. The band was hit by multiple changes in the line-up, on "Traumstadt" the musicians were Joachim Grumbkow (keyboards and vocals on "Streaming"), Pablo Weeber (all guitars), Michael Bruchmann (drums), Cristoph 'Nops' Noppeney (lead vocals and violin) and Hans Bäär (bass). All the nine melodic tracks have their own climate and  fluid accelerations, nice interludes, pleasant keyboards (string-ensemble, electric piano, organ and clavinet) and great interplay between electric guitar and violin. But the focus is on the solo work: fiery ("Sun Rays"), biting ("Soft Landing") and howling ("Die Stadt") on the electric guitar and exciting ("Streaming") and spectacular ("Die Stadt") on the violin. Many solos are supported by the wonderful and distinctive sound of the string-ensemble, a compelling combination! Recommended, especially to the fans of the violin play of Jean Luc PONTY and Eddie JOBSON.

ATTENTION: 
Indonesia, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria, Latvia, Thailand, Romania, Russian Federation, Vietnam, South Africa, China and Saudi Arabia. EBAY is now blocking your countries bidding and buying from EBAY sellers due to continued problems with your customs, postal theft and confiscation. It is NOT me who is preventing this. If you are one of the countries listed above, there may be a way to bid from me. You must contact me and request that I could EXEMPT you from the blocked countries list. When  I get your request I can update you to my exemption list. Hopefully this will allow you to bid. 


·   No Reserve.

·   All Items will be Shipped in a Padded Sturdy Cardboard Mailer Specifically Designed for LP. 

·   Shipping within the US via Media Mail is $4.00 for the first LP and $1.00 extra per each additional.

·   Shipping to Canada via USPS International is $12.00 for the first LP and $2.00 extra per each additional.

·   International shipping via USPS International is $18.00 for the first LP and $4.00 extra per each additional

·   International shipping of Double LP Set is $22.00.  

RECORD WILL BE SHIPPED IN A PADDED MAILER WITH INSERTS, IN A PLASTIC OUTER SLEEVE AND QUALITY ORIGINAL PAPER INNER SLEEVE, WITH RECORD OUTSIDE OF JACKET ( except for SEALED LPs) TO PREVENT DAMAGE.

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT I CANNOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ITEMS MISSING IN THE POST, ALL I CAN DO IS KEEP PROOF OF POSTAGE. AS THE BUYER YOU ARE WELCOME TO PAY FOR EXTRA INSURED POSTAGE AT YOUR DISCRETION.

Please, email me with any questions.

RECORD GRADING

I use a very conservative process when grading my eBay items.

MINT

Sealed album...!!!

NEAR MINT

Like new. The vinyl retains its original gloss, and the jacket is clean with no wear nor marks on the label.

          EX              EXCELLENT

May have a few scuffs or very light scratches which do not affect its playability. May have some minor rubs on the label or spindle. May have some writing on the label which will be noted. May have some slight wear on the jacket but no splits! This is the desirable grade for most collectors.

VG+
VERY GOOD+

The vinyl and cover has light general wear including scratches (may be audible), small splits on the jacket, and some label wear (including writing).

VG
VERY GOOD

General wear both on vinyl and jacket, audible scratches, split jacket (including ringwear) and label wear.

POOR/DAMAGED

Non-playable!!! Sold for the jacket only, or sold as a "rare" filler copy.

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT WHEN VINYL WAS THE STANDARD, 20 TO 30% OF ALBUMS CAME OUT OF THE SHRINK WRAP AS BAD PRESSINGS WITH SURFACE NOISE. OBVIOUSLY, SUCH BAD PRESSINGS WOULD NOT BE IDENTIFIABLE THROUGH VISUAL EXAMINATION, NO MATTER HOW CAREFUL

Happy Bidding !

                           Don't forget to check out my other Collectible LPs ! 

Combine on shipping and

SAVE!

..and Remember .. Vinyl Kills the mp3 Industry !!!